First of all, I do not think the employer is compensating the workers, nor is it the other way around. It is a right; it is as simple as that. We are talking about workers who paid into the Employment Insurance program for many years and, at the end of a lengthy labour dispute, they are entitled to receive benefits; it is as simple as that.
In my opinion, this should not really pose a problem. Also, we all know that employee and employer EI contributions allowed the government to build up huge surpluses for many years. We are talking about $60 billion in the Employment Insurance fund, and an additional $19 billion that will be added to it in the next few years.
I think it is the employees who are penalized in a situation like that, not the employers, because the contributions they made are not being used to support the workers.